# White-throated dipper (*Cinclus cinclus*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/white-throated-dipper  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The white-throated dipper (Cinclus cinclus), also called the Dipper, is a bird in the family Cinclidae, order Passeriformes, within the songbirds and other perching birds. It is a small bird with an adult body mass of 61.47 g, ranging from 57.08 g to 66.33 g, and a wingspan of 28 cm. This sedentary carnivore is an aquatic predator of riverine habitats, with a geographic range of 8,500,000 km². It lays 4.5 eggs per clutch with 2 clutches per year, incubates its eggs for 16 days, and is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 57.1 g – 66.3 g |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Wingspan | 28 cm |
| Lifespan | 10.6 years |
| Diet | Aquatic predator |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 10.6 years |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | riverine |
| Egg incubation | 16 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 4.52 |
| Age at maturity | 12 months |
| Litters or clutches a year | 2 |
| Lifestyle | Generalist |
| Migration | Sedentary |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Passeriformes
- family: Cinclidae
- genus: Cinclus
- species: *Cinclus cinclus* (Linnaeus, 1758)

Synonyms: *Aquatilis cinclus*, *Cinclus aquaticus albiventris*, *Cinclus cinclus beicki*, *Cinclus cinclus meridionalis*, *Cinclus cinclus pyrenaicus*, *Cinclus cinclus sapsworthi*, *Cinclus cinclus szetschwanensis*, *Cinclus europaeus*, *Cinclus hydrophilus*, *Cinclus linnéi*, *Cinclus lutans*, *Cinclus melanogaster*, *Cinclus meridionalis*, *Cinclus peregrinus*, *Cinclus rufipectoralis*, *Cinclus rupestris*, *Cinclus rupestris*, *Cinclus septentrionalis*, *Cinclus younghusbandi*, *Hydrobata albicollis*, *Hydrobata cinclus*, *Sturnus cinclus*, *Sturnus cinctus*, *Tringa cinclus minor*, *Turdus cinclus*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the white-throated dipper?

The white-throated dipper is a bird in the family Cinclidae and order Passeriformes, part of the songbirds and other perching birds.

### How much does a white-throated dipper weigh?

An adult White-throated dipper weighs 61.47 g, with reported values from 57.08 g to 66.33 g. Its wingspan is 28 cm.

### What does the white-throated dipper eat?

The white-throated dipper is an aquatic predator and a carnivore.

### What habitat does the white-throated dipper live in?

The white-throated dipper lives in riverine habitats and is sedentary.

### Is the white-throated dipper endangered?

No. The white-throated dipper is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.

### How long does a white-throated dipper live?

The white-throated dipper has a lifespan of 10.58 years, with values up to 10.6 years reported.

### How many eggs does the white-throated dipper lay?

The white-throated dipper lays 4.5 eggs per clutch and has 2 clutches per year, with an incubation period of 16 days. It reaches sexual maturity at 1 year.

### Who named the white-throated dipper?

The white-throated dipper, Cinclus cinclus, was named by (Linnaeus, 1758).

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7), CC BY 4.0, v7. Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: White-throated dipper (Cinclus cinclus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/white-throated-dipper